If you thought the Sox could make a run into the last week of the season, congrats. I had no such delusions.

As I posted on the Facebook page, I am happy to have been able to get entertainment from the Sox through September. This team overachieved until it ran out of gas.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jurr

At the end of the day, you want your team to win it all.
If this squad snuck into the playoffs and was bounced immediately, we would still be disappointed.

As we saw in 2005, you need solid depth along the pitching staff, bullpen, and even far into the bench (Blum, Ozuna) to win it all.

This team was not built for such exploits.

Jurr hit the nail on the head. I'm glad that the team exceeded all expectations, however these past four weeks have been absolutely brutal, and it was hard not to see it coming. You can only say "it's one more game off the schedule" and "Detroit also has their problems" so many times before you see the writing on the wall. "Home Run or Nothing" baseball was not going to cut it, plain and simple.

Jurr hit the nail on the head. I'm glad that the team exceeded all expectations, however these past four weeks have been absolutely brutal, and it was hard not to see it coming. You can only say "it's one more game off the schedule" and "Detroit also has their problems" so many times before you see the writing on the wall. "Home Run or Nothing" baseball was not going to cut it, plain and simple.

How much interest would Dunn have from other teams during the offseason?

Robin has "over managed" his bullpen only lately, as starters haven't gone as deep, as innings for Jones, Crain and Thornton have piled up, and as Robin had thus had to turn increasingly to recent callups to get through games. Keep in mind also that due to multiple injuries, the desire to protect the youngsters, and general ineffectiveness, Robin and Coop have had to juggle.

This isn't like 2005, where Ozzie had five veteran workhorses he rode, plus a rookie - McCarthy - that he could plug in where needed.

If you're going to grade Robin on his pitching moves, he needs to be graded on the curve.

__________________The universe is the practical joke of the General at the expense of the Particular, quoth Frater Perdurabo, and laughed. The disciples nearest him wept, seeing the Universal Sorrow. Others laughed, seeing the Universal Joke. Others wept. Others laughed. Others wept because they couldn't see the Joke, and others laughed lest they should be thought not to see the Joke. But though FRATER laughed openly, he wept secretly; and really he neither laughed nor wept. Nor did he mean what he said.

Wise isn't the problem. Wise has shown that in limited situations he can do some damage with the bat; he then cools off considerably and begins to suck. The problem lies in needing him in the first place. That's a front office problem; not a Dewayne Wise or Robin Ventura problem. We have a middling roster.

I agree with this. Wise is and was never the problem. This team just isn't deep enough and that traces right back to the front office. You can't blame only Ventura or a part time player like Wise. There is enough blame for everyone to share.

2) Pretty obvious from the get-go that Sale didn't have it. Showed good strikeout stuff the first couple of innings...

3) my friend's father decided he would root just for a Moore perfect game until it was broken up. Which, you know, din't exactly change the complexion of the game.

3) From section 538, we could clearly see Vasgersian and McCarver in the TV booth with the FOX bunting and it added a level to our banter during the slower moments. We usually satirize Hawk half the game, so it was nice to add some variety yesterday and approximate/lampoon Vasgersian's condescending, overarticulate tones and McCarver's general cluelessness.

4) the four consecutive two-out pinch-hitters, all of whom got on base, capped off by an Orlando Hudson opposite-field grand slam, was one of the weirdest and most hilarious things I've ever seen at a game, besides all the homers by no-power Tampa players. We also had fun trying to figure out how all five PHs would fit into the field--I assume Gimenez has outfield experience in the minors; we were surprised when he ran into right field. We were also slightly disappointed the Hudson didn't run out to 2nd base, thereby forfeiting the DH and completing the hilarity of the Cactus League lineup.

5) I got to boo Luke Scott. Loudly.

6) it's pathetic that my friends and I were able to derive our usual bizarre hilarity from this game, one that, y'know, was supposed to be a ridiculously crucial one.

Going back today with my father as the last game of our 7-game plan. Hey, might see the AL Cy Young winner's last start of the year...hoping to raid the Depot for clearance deals. What else happens for Fan Appreciation Day? I understand the autograph session is off.

"Genius is not replicable. Inspiration, though, is contagious, and multiform — and even just to see, close up, power and aggression made vulnerable to beauty is to feel inspired and (in a fleeting, mortal way) reconciled."
--David Foster Wallace, () "Roger Federer as Religious Experience"

I just listened to Robin's press conference after the game yesterday. He said: "We stunk...It's pretty simple. We did. We didn't hit. Everybody that came off the bench seemed to hit, or do something, but that's just...that's the way it goes." That's about as unhappy as I've seen him during a press conference.

Wise isn't a problem in the sense that he doesn't insert himself in the lineup. People accurately point out he's good in limited situations - but our managers (both Ventura and Guillen) refused to limit his use to those limited situations. I'll be kind and say that the managers, when looking at the bench, think to themselves "well at least he's capable of getting on hot streaks", and looking for the positive, ignore the horrendous hitting that is his norm, so they insert him into the lineup.
And this entire season, lack of anyone who could hit lick on the bench was a glaring issue. Unfortunately, Wise isn't a legitimate solution to that. But thankfully, he did have his hot streak while on the Sox and while De Aza was hurt.
In fact, the only decent bench player we had all season was Escobar, and we dumped him with others for Liriano.

Going back today with my father as the last game of our 7-game plan. Hey, might see the AL Cy Young winner's last start of the year...hoping to raid the Depot for clearance deals. What else happens for Fan Appreciation Day? I understand the autograph session is off.[/QUOTE]

I confirmed at customer service yesterday that there is no autograph session planned for today. The Sox have signed autographs on fan appreciation day for as long as I can remember.

A statistic that confuses me is the number of doubles that the White Sox hit. If you look at AL batting stats the White Sox tend to rank between #3( home runs) to #8 ( batting average) in just about every category. Obviously most of the offensive stats are inflated by the 1st half of the season. But the White Sox are ranked last in doubles. Now obviously several of the main hitters are deathly slow. But for the Sox to rank deadlast, especially w the long ball potential of so many in the lineup, would indicate to me we still have players who do not hit for the gaps. Is the Cell a major reason???

Robin has "over managed" his bullpen only lately, as starters haven't gone as deep, as innings for Jones, Crain and Thornton have piled up, and as Robin had thus had to turn increasingly to recent callups to get through games. Keep in mind also that due to multiple injuries, the desire to protect the youngsters, and general ineffectiveness, Robin and Coop have had to juggle.

This isn't like 2005, where Ozzie had five veteran workhorses he rode, plus a rookie - McCarthy - that he could plug in where needed.

If you're going to grade Robin on his pitching moves, he needs to be graded on the curve.

Totally agree. Robin managed the bullpen better when his starters were going 6 and 7 innings rather than 3 and 4 innings! It's the weaing down/ineffectiveness of the starters (Sale yesterday; Lirianao and Quintana regularly) that has contributed to the use of the Triple A guys. Who was he supposed to bring in to the game in the 4th? Crain? Thornton? His only options yesterday were Humber or the Triple A guys. I agree that the higher number of pitching changes in the 7th and 8th innings are curious, but I attribute some of that to the effectiveness of Veal and Robin wanting Veal to get one (and seemingly only one) left handed hitter out per game -- something Will Ohman couldn't due during the first half of the season.

I agree with this. Wise is and was never the problem. This team just isn't deep enough and that traces right back to the front office. You can't blame only Ventura or a part time player like Wise. There is enough blame for everyone to share.